Orange County firefighters rushed to a Laguna Niguel neighborhood to extinguish flames burning near homes Wednesday afternoon. The brush fire started on the hillside near Ridgeway Avenue and Alcott Place at around 3:30 p.m. Crews quickly doused the flames as the fire burned vegetation dangerously close to several homes.

The Doerner Fir is over 325 feet tall. Its top has been burning since Aug. 17, but lightning, the most obvious cause, has been ruled out.

The former chief, Kristin Crowley, claimed that Los Angeles leaders retaliated against her for publicly blaming them for refusing to properly fund the Fire Department.